


Fine

by tallulahwinona



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dragon Iwaizumi Hajime, Dragon Rider Oikawa Tooru, Dragon Riders, Flying, Iwa's a dragon, M/M, Original Character(s), bit Eragon-y
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-03-01 14:45:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13297098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tallulahwinona/pseuds/tallulahwinona
Summary: Oikawa slid his feet further into the leather loops holding him in place and bent forwards in the saddle. The wind whipped his face as Iwa’s massive wings thrusted back, sending them surging forwards. He watched Iwa’s distorted reflection race along the jagged ice below them, water frozen into miles of curling waves. Oikawa looked up as Iwa sent him an image of green, far on the horizon, seen in glimpses between the snow-coated mountains soaring up in front of them. Oikawa, with human eyes, couldn’t see anything past the mist coating the mountainside. But Iwa could see far beyond.***Or: I adore Iwaoi and the dragon aus.Concept is a bit inspired by Eragon.





	Fine

Oikawa slid his feet further into the leather loops holding him in place and bent forwards in the saddle. The wind whipped his face as Iwa’s massive wings thrusted back, sending them surging forwards. He watched Iwa’s distorted reflection race along the jagged ice below them, water frozen into miles of curling waves. Oikawa looked up as Iwa sent him an image of green, far on the horizon, seen in glimpses between the snow-coated mountains soaring up in front of them. Oikawa, with human eyes, couldn’t see anything past the mist coating the mountainside. But Iwa could see far beyond.

 _Do you think we can make it by tonight?_ Oikawa asked him. He touched Iwa’s mind and recoiled slightly, feeling the weariness building in his wings and his tail. 

_I can do it._ Iwa’s voice was quiet, as if the loud wind was impacting their mental bond. 

_You’ve been flying straight without eating for hours._

_I can do it._ There was a pause, and then Iwa brushed his mind against Oikawa’s gently, reassuringly. _I’ll be alright._

Oikawa rested a hand on the rough scales in front of him, tucking the tips of his fingers beneath their edges. He gripped the saddle with his other hand and tightened his knees against Iwa’s sides as Iwa snapped his wings up, their tips almost meeting, and then dragged them down, throwing himself upwards to scale the mountains. He tipped one way and then the other, the wind catching in his wings and making them ripple, creating a sound like thick parchment being shaken. His long claws caught in rocks and then pushed downwards, giving him extra momentum. His long tail lashed to steer himself.

Iwa climbed higher, wings beating relentlessly, throwing Oikawa back in the saddle, only his strength and leather straps holding him in place. Snow crumbled around them, scattered by the blizzard of Iwa’s wings and the gusts racing down the mountain. Oikawa narrowed his eyes to slits as snow and wind stung his face, ripping at his skin and clawing at his clothes. 

And then there was the chilling, damp press of mist, and then nothing. Oikawa opened one eye, then the other. 

Scraps of stray clouds guttered past them, frail shapes giving way to clear air. Snow blanketed the ground far below them, stretching before and behind them where they gave way to the mountains. The ice and snow fields covered the south for miles before being broken up by the Seor Mountains – a range that stretched from the west coast to midway through the content, where it reached nearly to the southern settlements of Urda. Iwa spread his wings wide, letting an air current fill them and lift him higher. He tucked his legs beneath him and glided, resting after the rough climb. He let out a long breath, releasing sparks that danced past Oikawa as they were left behind. Iwa scanned Oikawa’s mind with his quickly, searching for anything wrong.

 _You’re alright?_ he asked.

 _Fine,_ Oikawa confirmed, patting Iwa’s neck. He drew his coat tighter around himself and pulled his scarf up over his mouth as they passed through another cloud. He reached down to unbuckle the leather loops his boots were fit into to hold him steady in agility flying and then slid his feet out of them, stretching his legs. He winced as his knees unlocked, his right knee twinging painfully, still injured. Iwa’s attention was on him instantly, trying to crane his head enough to see Oikawa. This was largely a lost cause, as Oikawa was seated on his neck. Iwa settled for glaring at him out of the corner of a single glittering green eye.

 _I’m fine,_ Oikawa told him. Iwa huffed, smoke curling out between his teeth. 

_You’re not._

_I am,_ Oikawa insisted. He deflected Iwa’s attempts to prod at his mind. Iwa sent him an image of him plucking Oikawa off his back with his teeth and throwing him into the air. Oikawa stuck his tongue out at him. 

Iwa huffed again but turned his head back to focus on flying. _I’ll look at it later._ He beat his wings once, twice, building speed. 

The mountains grew smaller behind them and, as Iwa continued to beat his wings steadily, near the middle of the day the snow began to give way to black dirt. Without the colder, drier air, the cloud bank grew thicker and thicker, leaving them to fly just above it. The sun, at its apex, dried the wetness clinging to the saddlebags and Oikawa’s clothes. The air began to warm, eventually forcing Oikawa to pull off his coat and scarf and shove them into one of the bags. His riding leathers still kept the bite out of the wind.

 

 _We should be there soon._ Iwa’s soft voice woke Oikawa out of a half-doze. He wiped at his eyes with his wrists, blinking the blur out of them. He looked for the sun. It was behind them, almost at the horizon. It would be dark soon enough – an hour or so. His bond with Iwa was comfortably open, their minds intertwined. He felt a tired acknowledgement from Iwa as Oikawa scanned over him, guilt creeping up within him. Iwa was exhausted. Oikawa could feel it, the ache in his limbs spreading across the bond to seep into Oikawa’s own. 

Oikawa shifted in the saddle, knots in his shoulders seizing after being locked in an odd position. He twined a leather strap around his wrist to hold him steady as he leaned out, looking down. Between clouds he could see bright flashes of green grass – the Kullabor Plains. They were close. 

He began trickling a steady stream of strength into Iwa. Iwa was too tired to protest and tell Oikawa to save it, as he usually would. The change from the stiffness in his wings was easily discernible, enough that Oikawa knew without a doubt the strength was helping. 

Surprisingly, Oikawa was the first to see them: a black stretch quickly approaching as they soared towards it. 

_Iwa, there,_ he said, slipping his feet into the leather loops for extra safety. Iwa slowed, twisting his wings to flap them forwards. The black stretch quickly spread beneath them into distinguishable shapes: tents in endless rows, soldiers striding between them, barricades thrown up on the outskirts of the camp. Iwa sunk in the air, wings beating huge, slow strikes to control their descent.

The cry went up, “Dragon!” and the shout was repeated throughout the camp, followed by screams and the scurry of movement as soldiers rushed to their stations, then were stopped by superiors. 

Iwa soared over the camp, the tents’ tops flying past below them. As they came to the commander’s tent, a huge white structure dominating the camp, Iwa threw his wings forward, jolting Oikawa almost out of the saddle, and then put his strong hind legs out, touching down on them first. His front claws thumped on the ground as they landed soon after, his wings rustling as they folded tight against him.

 _Sorry,_ Iwa apologised as Oikawa unbuckled himself and climbed down from the saddle, using Iwa’s leg as a step. _I tried to be gentle._

_I know._ Oikawa patted his side. People began to gather among the tents, staring at Iwa. It was no common experience to see a dragon, particularly at close range. Oikawa began threading and tugging the straps buckled under Iwa’s stomach and across his chest. When they were free, he dug his hands under the saddle and was able to lift it off Iwa’s back. Iwa hummed, his relief flooding Oikawa’s mind. Oikawa stumbled a little with the weight of the saddle and the full saddlebags, and then the heaviness left his arms as soldiers, clad in blue, pulled it from him.

“Ah! The Rider!”

Oikawa turned to see a man rushing towards him and Iwa. The man was wearing the army’s standard navy blue uniform with the bright commander’s badge pinned to his lapel. From this, Oikawa understood him to be the man they were meant to be meeting with: Commander Guion. 

Guion was a short man with a wide middle and too-slicked-back hair. His badge was clean but his uniform was marred by spots of grease, his half-polished boots scuffed at the toe and the heel. His face was round, his cheeks flushed, and his smile wide and trusting. The way he presented himself reminded Oikawa of a bumblebee: fat and slow on too much honey but insistently buzzing. When Oikawa scanned the man’s mind quickly, it confirmed this outlook: thoughts flying everywhere. _A bee with no sting._

_Be nice,_ Iwa said sternly. 

Oikawa gave Guion his brightest, most charming smile and held out his hand. Guion shook it happily with two. 

“That’s right, sir,” Oikawa said. “Oikawa. This is Iwaizumi.” He gestured to Iwa, standing beside him. 

“Yes, yes,” Guion seemed to agree, nodding, and waved for them to follow him as he began bustling towards the commander’s tent. Oikawa and Iwa exchanged a glance. “We’ve set up a tent for you – right behind the big one.” 

“Excellent.” Oikawa steadied a young soldier who tripped while carrying one side of the saddle. The boy glanced at him fearfully and sped up.

“There are some things I need to talk to you about,” Guion said. “But–” He was cut off as Iwa morphed to human form, clad in leathers like Oikawa, to follow them. Guion stared at him, astonished, and there were gasps and murmurs from the crowd behind them. Iwa looked unfazed, which was certainly one of the things Oikawa loved about him. 

“’But’?” Oikawa prompted. Guion tore his gaze back to Oikawa and smiled, this time slightly tremulously. 

“But I understand you’ve had a long journey, and if you need anything, don’t be afraid to ask.”

“Well, if you could, water,” Oikawa said. “And food for my friend.”

“Oh! Of course. Yes.” Guion waved over a soldier and then pointed to the commander’s. “You’ll both come in?”

“Iwa will go to our tent,” Oikawa intervened, before Iwa could open his mouth. “But he’ll be listening.”

 _Go rest,_ Oikawa told Iwa. Iwa cast an appraising look at him, then nodded, and Oikawa brushed their knuckles together quickly. The soldier Guion had ushered over stood at attention for Iwa, and then led him away, around the commander’s tent, while Guion showed Oikawa into it. 

Oikawa and Iwa’s bond stayed open, and Oikawa saw through Iwa’s eyes where their tent was, its insides, and the platter of food Iwa was handed. Through Oikawa, Iwa listened to what Guion and the captain said: a range of strategies and updates on movements of the opposing army to the east. Oikawa gave his opinion, and also passed along Iwa’s when Iwa chose to comment. Eventually, Oikawa felt Iwa drift asleep, and he narrowed their bond to a faint tendril, enough to not bother him but to alert each other if something happened to one of them. 

When Oikawa entered the tent, late at night and exhausted, Iwa was still asleep. Oikawa ate what Iwa had left him of the food, then slipped off his boots and stripped off his leathers. Oikawa, ignoring the free bunk on the other end of the tent, gently pulled back the thin blanket resting over Iwa and slid in beside him.

He was immediately warmed up: Iwa was hot. Iwa was always hot – dragons were notoriously hot-blooded. He put his head on the pillow and found himself face-to-face with Iwa, who was turned towards him, eyes closed. Iwa’s black hair was splayed across the pillow, tanned skin painted with shadows. His soft, rumbling breath whispered against Oikawa’s cheek.

Oikawa gently touched his mind – Iwa’s fleeting sleep-controlled thoughts drifted like fish in a river. They stopped for a moment and Iwa’s eyes opened slightly, watching him. His pupils glowed, inhuman, reflecting light from the lamps outside. 

_You’re alright?_ Iwa asked, his voice very quiet in Oikawa’s mind. Oikawa wound a lock of Iwa’s hair around his finger and brushed his palm against Iwa’s cheek.

 _Fine,_ he replied. Iwa nodded slightly and leaned into him, resting his head on Oikawa’s shoulder, and Oikawa pressed his nose into Iwa’s hair, closing his eyes and letting their minds tangle together.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I haven't written in a very, very long time. I adore the iwaoi dragon aus (and just iwaoi in general) and I've been thinking about writing some Haikyuu fanfic for a while - this is a bit of a first warm-up kind of thing (i.e. I'm a bit out of practice). I didn't even expect it to be this long! This is my first time posting on AO3 so I had bit of trouble with formatting but... oh well. Thank you so much for reading if you got this far - I hope you enjoyed it!


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